The Faceless Night
by Furballmews
Summary: One of the faceless men on a mission to kill the bastard child of the Frey finds something he didn't expect, regret and beauty.


Today was a day like any other. Maya Rivers, bastard child of house Frey, sat watching the man known to most as Little Finger as he darted about gathering secrets. The great Lord Baelish, as he was rarely called, was a horrid little man and though she learned much from watching his movements, every bit about him made her feel sick. She had been ordered to shadow him only a month before he'd helped Ned Stark to his grave and his actions only grew more suspicious by the day. And so Maya hated her job, her lot in life.

She'd woken up in the same inn she'd been in for a week, dirty little place with poor furnishings and even poorer food. After washing her pale skin in the rusty wash basin and brushing out her light brown hair, she ate the last of her bread from the day before then rubbed soot on her hands and face before leaving for the city. She'd played many parts in her work but beggar was her least favorite.

Once a month she met a courier at the tavern and passed coded messages back home. Messages that to anyone else seemed nothing more than the lonely dribble one might expect from a bastard child writing their only parent. Tonight seemed much as any other had, the courier had come and gone, her glass was full and her mind numbed. From her tiny dark booth she can watch everyone at their merriment, guards drinking alongside the common folk as if it were natural, a world so different from the daytime.

Maya tipped her glass, drinking in the bitter cheap wine. Lowering it she finds herself eye to eye with a roguish looking man wearing a grin. She hadn't seen him approach, hadn't sensed him as he sat down, and hadn't a clue why he was there. After all she had managed to stay off of so many radars thus far, a feat not easily accomplished anywhere.

" Excuse me, thought you looked a bit lonely drinking alone." the man said while pouring himself a drink. " Pretty girl like you shouldn't be alone."

" Pretty?" Maya scoffs. " You ser, are drunk."

He laughs. "Not as drunk as A man might plan to be..." His grin widens as he leans forward brushing a stray hair behind her ear. " You are a pretty miss, though you try hard to hide it... This man wonders why that is?"

Maya blinks a few times, speechless and trying to decide what kind of man sat before her. His clothes were a bit worn but nice dark silks, though she couldn't tell exactly what color due to the dim lighting. His hands were callused but clean, he probably knew how to wield a sword. He was lean and muscular suggesting he ate well, never long without like most folk. He could be here to take care of her, the thought chilled her suddenly.

"Allow a man to fill your cup." His eyes locking with hers, blue yet dark somehow, as he snatches up her cup and fills it.

Expensive wine. Maya could instantly tell the difference as she tried to calm her nerves with a large gulp. " Thank you. "

He laughs again. " High bred are you? "

Maya's eyes go wide, though her voice calm. "No, not really...my mother was a farm girl.."

"Ah, but your father wasn't, was he?" The man brushed her cheek with the back of his hand, a coy smirk on his face. "Not hard to tell if you know what to look for. For example your skin is like porcelain, your hands delicate."

" Delicate?" She laughs. " I suppose one might see it that way."

" And you don't? " His hand comes to rest on hers, fingers stroking her wrist.

Maya shakes her head. " Who are you? "

"Names are as unimportant as faces in my business, but a man can't just give things like his true name out. " He leans in closer, his nose but an inch from hers. "What might they call you?"

" Ser expects an answer after that line? " Maya replies taking another swig of her drink, watching as the man cocks an eyebrow expectantly. " Very well...Maya, my name is Maya."

"What a lovely name, it suits you. Perhaps you might join me in a stroll?" He tugs at her wrist, gentle and coaxing. " This man would like to show you something..."

Maya didn't have the chance to decline, as he pulled her behind him, a suddenly firm grasp on her right hand. He pushed through the crowd and out the door, quickening his pace once he'd reached the street and making a bee line for the upper gardens. She could already smell the forbidden flora that no common folk dare to smell

He quickly turned causing Maya to loose her footing as she was pulled through a rough opening in some tall hedges. Her knee hits the ground, her dress tears and he releases her hand. She looks up to the snickering man surrounded by dim glowing blue flowers with awe on her face.

" So beautiful, what are they?" She stands slowly, brushing her fingertips across the flower tops with a soft smile. "I've never seen such a flower."

He steps in close to her, pulling her tightly against him, pressing his lips to hers. She can feel her knees buckle beneath her weakly as his hand ghosts over her hip and up her side, coming to rest on her breast. He slips his tongue between her lips and she could taste honey as he pulls back.

" Such a lovely girl, it really saddens a man to see such a thing..." He whispers. " Perhaps this man might taste of her a bit more before he's done..."

Maya jerks back, she knows why this man is here.


End file.
